8/2(2+2)

This is a viral phenomenon. Looks like 6th grade simple math to me.

16

1

5 out of 4 people struggle with math.

I was told there would be no math today.
Pop-ups yes.
Math no.

8/2(2+2) reads and solves like this in the sixties -

8 divided by 2 times 2+2
8 divided by 2 times 4
8 divided by 8
8/8=1

72.6% of statistics are made up right there on the spot.

People for some reason think if you omit the multiplication symbol that the order of operations changes. 8/2*(2+2) is the same problem but wont trick near as many people. A large part of the population doesn't understand that for some reason though. it is 16 by the way.

There are three ways to think about this problem, each with their own points about why they are correct.

One way is to interpret the division symbol (/ or � symbol), as dividing everything to the left of it by everything to the right of it. Textbooks don�t typically use the symbol that way today, but it has been used that way historically. If you calculate the problem using this convention, it�s 8 divided by (2(2+2)), which is 1. Typically, though, if the author wanted you to interpret it that way, she would have used parentheses to indicate as much.

Alternatively, you can apply PEMDAS as schools do today: Simplify everything inside the parentheses first, then exponents, then all multiplication and division from left to right in the order both operations appear, then all addition and subtraction from left to right in the order both operations appear. By that convention, 8/2(2+2) = 8/2 � (2+2) = 4 � 4 = 16. If you were taking the ACT, SAT, or GRE (which would probably use parentheses to eliminate confusion), this method would yield the correct answer. It's also the answer you'll get if you use Google calculator, WolframAlpha, etc.

Where some people fail to apply PEMDAS correctly is they take it too literally and assume *all* multiplication is done before *all* division. Or that *all* addition comes before *all* subtraction. That's the problem with a mnemonic and perhaps we should change it to P|E|MD|AS so that people remember that multiplication and division have equal precedence, followed by addition and subtraction with equal precedence to each other.

Still other people would argue that the 2 to the left of the parentheses is part of simplifying the parentheses. There is a basis for simplifying the 2(2+2) before it�s divided into 8. It�s called �implied multiplication by juxtaposition.� We know the expression 5x means to multiply 5 and x because they are juxtaposed next to one another. But should these operations be done before a division that occurs to the left of them in a problem? There actually hasn't been a math authority that has stated that the implied multiplication should happen first before the division, so I'm not sure where people are getting this assumption that it has a higher precedence than the division before it. But yet, this assumption does linger.

In any case, there are historical cases where division was treated much like the division in a fraction where everything to the left was calculated first and then everything to the right and then it was all divided. But that hasn't been the case since about 1917.

The more modern convention, and the one you should use if you are being tested is the PEMDAS order of operations where the division and multiplication have equal precedence and are done left to right. If you do, you get the answer of 16.

The final thing I'll say, is if you are writing an expression such as the one above, you would be better served by adding a few extra parentheses to totally clarify your intention. So if you want it to be a fraction, group the denominator in parentheses as 8/(2(2+2)). Or if you want to ensure the division goes first, write it as (8/2)(2+2). Otherwise, you'll find your expression debated for years on Facebook and Yahoo Answers wasting everyone's time.

Who the hell writes a math problem out like that?

4, i look at it as; 8 divided by 2 is the same as (2+2).... 4

Pro tip: you can copy and paste these problems into google and avoid having to think back to your 4th grade math class.

I got 16 when I saw it yesterday for the first time. I�m terrible at math, but this seems easy to me.

PEMDAS has a corollary that when you have Multiplication and Division next to each other; you proceed from left to right (Division is Multiplication of the inverse)

So, the answer is 16

Parenthesis first = 4
Then you just proceed from left to right because you just have multiplication and division remaining.

8/2 = 4

Then 4X4=16


The corollary: 8/2 is the same thing as 8X1/2 (so you just proceed from left to right when you just have multiplication and division remaining in the equation.)

8/2=4 X4 =16

Seriously? How hard is that?